


you're my future

by bugheadtrash



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 4x17 Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, F/M, Fix up, It never happened, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, and she realises her mistake, in which Betty is being honest, mentions of the b/a kiss, there's no barchie dream sequence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugheadtrash/pseuds/bugheadtrash
Summary: When he turned around the corner, having a full image of Archie’s garden, he saw the red-headed boy hugging Betty. She was smiling, caressing his friend’s back while whispering something to his ear. Jughead stood still, not daring taking another step closer to them. He didn’t know why he didn’t approach them and join them at the garden, but he knew one thing for sure; he hadn’t felt as disappointed as he felt the moment he saw Archie kissing Betty on the mouth.He heard Betty laughing and saying something about them being “too young to marry” and he felt sick to his stomach.He didn’t pay Archie a visit that day.Jughead couldn’t believe that he would face similar problems as his 8-year-old self. He thought he had moved on; he had gained some confidence over the past few years and he could trust his girlfriend to never betray or hurt him. Apparently, he was fooling himself. He could never trust anyone.A few hours ago he had told Betty that he couldn’t imagine any scenario in which the two of them wouldn’t be together. But right now, all he could think of was that there wasn’t any scenario in which they could move past what she did to him.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 12
Kudos: 90
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	you're my future

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> This past week has been a mess, and it only got worse once the newest episode of Riverdale aired. I won't comment anything about it, because I don't want to bring unnecessary negativity into the fandom, but you can guess that I'm not satisfied with the storyline the writers chose to write. This is my attempt at fixing the terrible ending of episode 17.
> 
> Also, I want to point out that I don't mention Veronica (except for one time), not because I don't think that she's in the same horrible place as Jughead, but because I wanted to focus on Bughead as well as Jughead's thoughts about the situation. Veronica Lodge is a pure creature who deserves better.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this little piece and maybe feel a tiny bit better after reading it!

Jughead was already walking out of their shared room and Betty couldn’t hold back her tears.

_How could she do this to him? After everything they’ve been through?_

She remembered what happened almost two years ago, when Archie and she kissed during the Black Hood chasing. She had hidden the truth from Jughead back then and even though their relationship didn’t get tested from that _stupid_ mistake of hers, she still felt guilty, because he had ended up finding out about the kiss from Cheryl. Betty wasn’t planning on making the same mistake again though. _She had to tell him_ , even if she found it easy or not.

She quickly wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes and stood up, straightening her skirt and started walking fast enough to catch Jughead before he went back to the bunker. By the time she walked down the stairs, she saw Jughead grabbing the doorknob, ready to walk out of the house.

“ _Juggie!_ Jug, wait,” she exclaimed before he could leave. He immediately stopped what he was doing at the sound of her voice, turning around and facing her with that usual look of pure adoration on his eyes. _How could I hurt him_ , she questioned herself, regretting what she did over and over again.

“What is it, Betts? Do I have more homework to catch up to?” he joked. She tried to laugh at his joke, she really did. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it when she knew that she would break his heart in a matter of a few minutes.

“Jug, can you stay for a little longer? I- I want to tell you something,” she mumbled, not quite meeting his eyes. She hadn’t even started saying anything about the damn kiss, but she felt embarrassed, _ashamed of her actions._

“Sure,” he instantly said, moving towards her and lacing their fingers together. “Is something bothering you?” Jughead asked, seeming a little concerned at her current attitude.

“Just come upstairs with me, okay?” she simply stated and started climbing the stairs that led to their room, never letting go of Jughead’s hand. “You are kind of scaring me,” he admitted once they were sited on their bed. She didn’t comment anything. She just proceeded to close the door, knowing that Jellybean was also in the house and Betty _definitely_ didn’t want her to listen to their conversation.

When she took her spot beside Jughead, a sigh escaped her mouth and she closed her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts and figure out _how_ she could tell him.

“Betty? Are you okay, baby?”

_She couldn’t listen to his voice, which was filled with love and care for her. She didn’t deserve this, she didn’t deserve him._

“Jug,” she managed to exclaim before she started sobbing. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest and his beating heart. Betty could hear him whispering soothing words to her, trying to calm her down, just like he _always_ did. _He was always there for her._

After a couple of minutes, she slowly pulled back from his embrace and looked at his eyes. Betty could see how concerned and confused he was, but he didn’t say anything. He was waiting for her to speak, whenever she was ready.

“You’ll hate me,” she whispered, not being able to help herself.

“Me hating _you_? That’s not possible,” he reassured her, tenderly caressing her cheek. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him _so bad_ , but she couldn’t. “What happened, Betty?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Remember when we fought at the bunker?”

“How could I forget? That was a few hours ago and since then I was working on this piece,” he told her, pointing at the essay he brought her a few minutes ago, which was currently placed at her desk which was filled with her own homework.

“Well, we were supposed to have rehearsal with Veronica and Archie a few minutes after it,” she continued, watching his eyes widen at her words.

“Fuck, I totally forgot! I’m so sorry-”

_This was even harder than what she first imagined._

“No, no, no. The rehearsal was actually cancelled, because Archie and V had also gotten into a fight,” she interrupted him, not wanting to hear to his pointless apologies. _She’d be the one who would be apologizing in a while._

“Really? Shit, I hope they’re okay now,” he said, feeling relieved that he hadn’t skipped their first rehearsal as a band.

“Well, I- I didn’t know that they had fought, so I headed straight to Archie’s garage for our scheduled rehearsal and I found him there… alone,” she continued. Betty took a deep breath and she continued looking down at her feet, clearly in denial to stare at Jughead’s gaze right now. “We decided to sing, just the two of us. You know, that song we had chosen from Hedwig, _Origin of Love_.”

“Oh. That’s- that’s okay,” Jughead said, evidently confused with her admission. He couldn’t understand why it mattered so much. “You did the right thing by rehearsing, I'm the one who's irresponsible –”

“ _We kissed_ ,” Betty suddenly shouted and started sobbing once again.

Jughead’s calm demeanor immediately changed. A scowl formed on his features and he sat up, facing her for the first time since she started recounting the events that led to the kiss.

“You _what?_ ” he asked her with clearly less calmness than he had before.

“It was a mistake, a stupid mistake,” she exclaimed with shaky voice.

“A mistake you’ve made twice by now,” he fired back.

“I didn’t want-”

“You didn't want what? You didn't want to kiss him? Did it happen accidentally?"

She didn't say anything. _He had every right to react that way._

“I asked you, Betty. I asked you a week ago about this exact thing,” he desperately yelled. “You said you didn’t feel anything for him, didn’t you?”

She nodded and she wanted to assure him that _of course she didn’t feel anything for Archie_ , when he spoke again. “You know that your feelings for Archie have always been my biggest insecurity. Or at least they used to be. I had started trusting you, Betty. That’s why I came up with the idea of you two fake dating while I was in the fucking bunker, hiding from everyone. After years of you putting him on the top of your priorities, I felt that this had changed, because you loved _me_ now. I guess I was wrong,” he brokenly admitted with glassy eyes.

“Juggie, I don’t feel anything for him-”

“ _Oh yeah?_ That’s weird, because I don’t feel anything for Veronica too, but I didn't end up _kissing her_ after a fight with you,” he angrily said.

“I told you you would hate me.”

“That’s all you are going to say?”

She suddenly stood up and tried to approach him, extending her hand to grab his, but he took a step back.

“No, Betty. I won’t forget what you and that backstabber – who I call my best friend – did to me and Veronica with a kiss or a hug. _You hurt me_ ,” he cried out.

“I- I feel terrible, Jug. I swear, I didn’t feel anything while I kissed him,” she tried to explain when she noticed him shaking his head.

“I believed you the last time, Betty. There was one huge difference though; both you and Archie weren’t in a relationship when you kissed.”

“You’re right, you’re absolutely right.”

“And I could probably forgive your right now if I was sure of your honest feeling, but I- I need to go,” he suddenly exclaimed, not bothering to look her in the eyes, before he made his way out of the room and their house.

_She had fucked up everything. She made Jughead doubt her feelings for him._

A few minutes after Jughead had left her alone, sobbing on the floor, she tilted her head and noticed Archie staring at her from his own window. He looked puzzled and a little guilty of his own. _As he should feel_ , Betty thought.

_She closed her curtains. She didn’t want to be reminded of the biggest mistake of her life._

* * *

Jughead was livid and heartbroken. He felt betrayed by the two most important people on his life.

When he left his home, Jughead considered going next door and paying a visit to Archie, but he didn’t want to upset Mary Andrews. He had plenty of time ahead of him. So he went to the only place he could be alone; the bunker.

He couldn’t stop thinking of the two words that had left Betty’s mouth. The words that destroyed him. _We kissed._

He had seen them kissing before. He was on the second grade and he was heading to Archie’s house to play with his new dog, Vegas. Mr. Andrews had called Jughead’s mother and had let her know that he was welcome anytime he wanted to visit their house so he could meet _Vegas_ for the first time. Little Jughead took Fred Andrews up on his offer and he decided to visit Archie’s home on the same day.

When he was getting closer to the porch of his home, he spotted a blonde ponytail out of the corner of his eye. Jughead felt his heart started beating faster, even though he couldn’t really understand why he suddenly felt this way _. It was probably his excitement about Archie’s dog_ , he thought.

When he turned around the corner, having a full image of Archie’s garden, he saw the red-headed boy hugging Betty. She was smiling, caressing his friend’s back while whispering something to his ear. Jughead stood still, not daring taking another step closer to them. He didn’t know why he didn’t approach them and join them at the garden, but he knew one thing for sure; _he hadn’t felt as disappointed as he felt the moment he saw Archie kissing Betty on the mouth._

He heard Betty laughing and saying something about them being _“too young to marry”_ and he felt sick to his stomach.

_He didn’t pay Archie a visit that day._

Jughead couldn’t believe that he would face similar problems as his 8-year-old self. He thought he had moved on; he had gained some confidence over the past few years and he could trust his girlfriend to never betray or hurt him. Apparently, he was fooling himself. He could never trust anyone.

A few hours ago he had told Betty that he couldn’t imagine any scenario in which the two of them wouldn’t be together. But right now, all he could think of was that _there wasn’t any scenario in which they could move past what she did to him._

* * *

Spending her night with non-stop crying wasn’t on Betty’s plans. Ripping most of her childhood photos wasn’t on her plans either.

Scattering pieces of images of innocent faces were currently thrown to her bedroom’s floor, along with many pages from the dairies she kept since she had learned how to write. Pages in which she used to ramble about the slightest bit of interaction she had with Archie, about the day she saw him after a whole summer apart from him or about the day he rejected her. _But that was before._

Before she realized what _true love_ means. Before she saw how important Jughead was to her or how he was always there to support her. It may have taken her some years to see him – _really_ see him –, but once she did, she was determined to love him with her whole heart. But she still found a way to hurt him.

She tossed around her bed, trying to get some sleep after this emotionally exhausting day, even though she knew it was a lost case. She wouldn’t be able to relax when she knew Jughead was away from her, alone in an unwelcoming and dark place where he stayed for almost two weeks, pretending to be dead. Betty needed him and a little part of her hoped he would need her too.

She had to see him, and she had to see him _now._

* * *

He was staring at her photo for a long time. It was the first item he had hung on the wall when he first arrived at the bunker a few weeks ago, knowing that he would stay there for a while. On nights like this, when he was all alone and had lost hope, he would just look at her beautiful, grinning face and everything would become a little better. He was praying something similar could happen right now. Jughead was hoping that her kind eyes and beaming face would bring him some calmness and he could forget about everything that happened.

She hadn’t called him during all those hours. _Good_ , he thought. _He didn’t want her to do so._

When he finally closed his eyes, hoping that this time he could actually sleep, he heard noises coming from the entrance of the bunker. If it was any other time, he would be scared. He would stand up, grab his knife and be ready to attack whoever tried to break in and disturb him.

_But he knew who it was this time._

It was _her._

She had red, puffy eyes and she looked nothing like herself, the girl who was always well put together. Any other person would be surprised at her current appearance, but not Jughead; _he knew her more than anyone._ Betty wasn’t what everyone thought of her. She hated being called perfect and she hated being the cheery person of their group all the time. She had feelings as well and she was facing problems of her own. Jughead knew that she used to hurt herself, _a habit he hated_ , and she -thankfully- managed to lessen. Recently, though, she found a way to hurt him too.

“Jug,” she breathed out once she came closer to him.

“Why are you here?” he asked her bitterly.

“We need to talk,” she simply replied.

“Didn’t we already do that?”

“I have to explain,” she said tiredly, but still determined to talk to him. “I’m sorry.”

“You apologized earlier, but that doesn’t change what you did.”

“Look, I know I screwed up. I screwed up my relationship with you, but I also screwed up my friendship with Veronica and Archie. I- I don’t know how I’ll face them again,” she admitted.

“You and Archie always seem to find your way back to one another,” he sorrowfully spouted off.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to see him for a while,” Betty murmured. “Whatever feelings I thought I had for Archie are long gone. They left when you came into my life and showed me what it means to love and be loved,” she continued markedly touched by her own admission. “I was feeling nostalgic when I kissed him.”

“Nostalgic of what?” Jughead asked her.

“Of the past. Of the time when things were simpler and we didn’t worry about our future or about how we will figure out the way we’ll organizing our lives in order to be together,” she exclaimed. “I don’t want to lose you, Jug. Call me selfish, but I don’t want to lose what we have. I never even questioned that you’re the only one for me.”

“ _You kissed him, Betty_. You know that I would never do this to you,” he yelled all of the sudden, incapable of forgetting such a huge act of betrayal.

She was fully crying now, something she seemed to do a lot today. “I know. I just want you to understand that I’ll do anything to make it up to you. I’ve left the past behind, Jug. The only thing I care about is the future, _which I hope I’ll spend by your side_.”

He tried. He tried to not break down, at least not in front of her. At the mention of their future, though, he had lost it. He felt tears making their way down his cheeks without his own will. _You need to stop_ , Jughead mused.

“I just- I need some time to get used to it. To realise what has happened and- I don’t know. Probably try to move on,” he said.

“I don’t know if this is going to help, but I was cleaning up my- _our_ room, looking at some old stuff and I found this,” she brought one of her diaries in front of her and handed it to him. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, at least not so fast. But it would mean a lot to me if you spent some time to read this,” Betty added.

He just nodded and opened the diary, looking at the date she first started writing it.

_September 6 th, 2017_

The day they first kissed. The day he had the courage to climb the ladder that led to her bedroom’s window and he finally made a move. _This diary was about their story._

“I’ll leave you alone now. Goodnight, Juggie,” she softly said and left the place, giving him the time he needed.

_He would later spend the whole night reading her diary. Seeing her thoughts about their relationship, the ups and downs of it, would be quite interesting. Jughead would be hurt when he would read about the night she kissed Archie right in front of Cheryl’s house, but her description of it, would make him feel better._

_“It felt wrong. He’s not the one I’m supposed to be kissing or spend my time investigating with. Juggie is. I’m so mad at myself right now. I wish I could turn back the time and never lean in. It's not fair to me and it's definitely not fair to Jughead."_

_He would start crying at her diary entry. He would realise that they’ve been through a lot and this couldn’t be the end of their story._

_Jughead would see her the following day at Pop’s, eating her breakfast alone, and he would rush towards her booth. He would kiss her and he would promise her that even though he needed some time, their bond is one that not even death can break._

**Author's Note:**

> What are your thoughts? I hope it's clear that Betty and Jughead reunite and even though it'll take them some time to work things out, they will always be together because they truly love each other.
> 
> Kudos & comments are highly appreciated! You can also find me on tumblr and hit me up with an ask: @bugheadsheaven
> 
> \- Angie


End file.
